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Three scientific conferences have shaped how governments
are implementing the convention. The first conference put
forward 11 impact indicators to assess changes in the produc-
tivity of the land. Two of the indicators are mandatory for
194 governments when they report on the progress they are
making to combat land degradation.
A database of the sustainable land management techniques
used around the world was also set up to facilitate the exchange
and diffusion of knowledge. Known as the Scientific Knowledge
Brokering Portal, the database has a lot of information and
knowledge for use by land managers and policymakers.
The second scientific conference examined the economic
benefits of sustainable land management versus the costs of
inaction. The results persuaded governments that it is possible
and necessary to pursue a land degradation neutral world. That
is, for every hectare of land that is degraded an equal amount
of degraded land is restored back to health in the same time-
frame and in the same ecosystem. This idea is now part of the
Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goal 15.3, which
the international community will strive to achieve by 2030.
The importance of this conference is reflected in the ongoing
work of the
Economics of Land Degradation
(ELD) initiative, a
platform for policymakers and the private sector that is now
building data on the economic benefits of land and land-based
ecosystems. ELD’s aims are to establish a common approach for
robust economic analysis of land management and to highlight
the benefits of adopting sustainable land management practices.
The scientific conference held earlier in 2015 considered
the role land use systems can play to mitigate climate change.
The Impulse Report
was the basis for this discussion at the
conference. The international community recognizes that
the available technologies on alternative energy and carbon
capture and storage are not enough to keep the temperature
rise to below 2 degrees Celsius. But the trees, soils, forests,
wetlands and other land-based resources that absorb carbon
can store more than half of the remaining excess carbon
emissions. The scientific community is urging governments
to adopt these carbon sequestering measures as part of the
Paris 2015 Climate Change Conference because of their
added value. Degraded lands and declining groundwater
levels would recover. Ecosystems would provide the resilience
needed during floods or droughts, for instance.
Other types of assessments of land degradation are also
underway. The SPI is working on evidence to show that
efforts to combat land degradation also address the issues
of climate change and biodiversity loss. It is also identifying
how sustainable land uses effectively manage soil carbon. The
Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services is carrying out an assessment on land degradation
and restoration. It will focus on the global status of and trends
in land degradation in each region and for different types of
land cover; and ecosystem restoration and options.
The
Global Land Outlook
is a flagship publication that will
be issued every four years from 2016. It is targeting a much
broader audience; an educated general public, non-govern-
mental organizations and civil society, and decision makers in
the private and public sectors. Its aim is to promote the main-
streaming of sustainable land management in both policy and
investment decisions. The publication is set up as a commu-
nications platform for strategic analysis to address the future
L
iving
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and
More than 2 billion people will be living in water-scarce regions in the world and rehabilitating degraded lands is a pathway to water security
Image: Jorge Valenzuela & UNCCD 2009 Photo Contest